Chapter 3
Beth was going to the auction to help the bidders out.
She would bid on things that she thought should go for a bigger pay and then drop out when it was up to a certain amount.
Serenity was going to owe her a lot when this was finished.
And she wasn’t going to wait to pay off the house first. She needed half the money now, and she wasn’t going to pussyfoot around for her to take half of it to go to paying off the house.
Since she’d not been named in the will, then she wasn’t going to be responsible for having to pay for half of the payments due from it.
Her cell phone was ringing when she was ready to go into her hotel room.
“Hello? Is this Beth Jamestown?” She said it was and asked who was calling. “My name is Lisa Savage, and we were wondering if you’d like to join us for dinner tomorrow night. My husband was your sister Helen’s attorney for her will.”
“Will Serenity be there?” She told her that they were inviting them both. “Then I’ll be there too. I don’t owe you anything if there’s a bill, will I? I mean for the will and stuff.”
“No, your sister Helen took care that Brenin was paid in full.” She sat down and tried to think where she’d heard the Savage name before. “It’s tomorrow night at six. We usually have things catered when we’re all together, so there’ll be plenty to eat.”
“Catered, huh? That sounds expensive.” She said that they could afford it, but her voice had gone cold. “I’ll be there. Just don’t expect me to be nice to Serenity. She’s been doing things behind my back, and I’m not happy with her.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” She didn’t sound sorry, but she let it go. “If you don’t have a ride, I can send someone to pick you up. I’m to understand that you’re staying in town until the auction. It’s going to be a big day, I think.”
“I hope so. That’s another thing that we don’t agree on.
And that’s selling the house. I want to make as much off of it as we can, but Serenity is saying that we have to pay off the house first.” She didn’t say anything, but she knew she was still on the line.
“You’ll have to send a car for me. I rented a car when I first got here, but that has run out, and they came to get it.
What time should I expect someone to be here? ”
“Five thirty. That should give you plenty of time to get here and meet everyone. All of the family will be here.” She rolled her eyes.
She didn’t want to meet the entire family, but since the meal was being catered, she’d go.
It would be good, she thought, and that’s all she was looking for. “I’ll see you tomorrow night.”
“Are you sending a car for—and she hung up. Why don’t people wait until you say goodbye before they simply hang up the phone?” She thought she was just rude, but again was going to enjoy herself. Even if she had to put up with Serenity, she’d have a good time.
She and her sister had been fighting off and on for the last two weeks.
She would be glad when she left for her home so that she could go home too.
Beth would stay as long as her sister did because she knew she’d be up to something.
Not that she knew what it was going to be, but she didn’t trust Serenity at all.
She’d be making money off of something or cashing in an insurance policy without her knowing about it.
The little one for five hundred dollars wasn’t enough to pay for the headstone, so Serenity had to come up with the difference.
Why Helen needed one in the first place was beyond her.
It wasn’t like she was going to be visiting her anytime soon.
But Serenity had been. She’d found her at the grave twice now, having a sandwich with a dead sister. Stupid idiot.
There was also one for the hospital bill.
That hadn’t been enough either. But the hospital had made an arrangement with Helen that she’d turn over the policy as soon as she was able to have it cashed.
The hospital wrote off the last bit of it as a sign of goodwill.
Beth didn’t know why she was bothering anyway.
There was no way they could collect from her if she didn’t pay, and that was just another stupid thing that she’d done.
The two of them fought over the bill again when it was marked paid in full.
“I still think that if you’d have cashed the policy and not given it to them, they wouldn’t have cared.” She said that she would. And that’s the way that Helen had wanted it. “Helen didn’t want to die either, I would imagine, but she did, and now we’re running around town taking care of her bills.”
“No one asked you to come with me. I have a list of things that I’m supposed to look into, and that’s what I’m doing. Stay home for all I care. And if you’re having such terrible financial troubles, why are you wasting money on a hotel? I offered to let you stay at the house with me.”
“I don’t know how you can stand to live there either. The place reeks of death and crayons. I have no idea where anything is, either with all the boxes around.” She told her they were for the auction. “You better hope that we’re going to make some money off of it. That’s all I’m telling you.”
“The house will need to be paid off first. I told you that. Then there is the auctioneer. He’ll need his percentage of selling all the furniture and the house.
He’s taking eighteen percent. After that, there’s the house, then the car.
The car will be sold at the auction too.
And have to be paid off.” She tried to point out once again that there was no one to collect on if she didn’t pay for it.
“This is what Helen wanted, and I’m going to make sure I do what she wanted. ”
“Then I suppose it’s a good thing that you’re in charge of the will.
” She was trying to be sarcastic, but she didn’t think it came off that way.
Beth and Serenity had never been close, and these last two weeks had made it worse.
She didn’t hate her, but she certainly didn’t like her all that much.
“I’m still taking that box of pictures. You can have what I don’t want if you want to come and get it, but I’m taking it. ”
“I told you that I don’t care. I’ve taken what I want from the house.” She asked her again what it was, hoping to be able to figure it out before she left with it. “None of your business. I didn’t ask you what you got from the house, did I?”
“No.” She wanted to slug her sister but knew better. Serenity might be small in stature, but she was huge on fighting. While she’d been in college, she’d been on the boxing team, and they’d gone all-state. No thanks, she didn’t want to get in a physical fight with her sister.
Getting ready at four o’clock to go to dinner at the Savage household the next night, she wondered why they’d care if they left without saying goodbye.
Serenity was leaving tomorrow morning and wouldn’t be back for two weeks when the auction was going to go on.
Then she’d stay for another week and be gone.
It would more than likely be the last time she saw her, and that sort of made her happy.
All they’d done was fight with each other since they were here for Helen, and she was sick of her. The sooner she was gone, the better.
The car that came to get her was a stretch limo.
It was beautiful the way that the sun shone on the slick black color.
Getting in, being handed in by the driver, she was surprised at how beautiful it was on the inside.
She’d never been in a limo before, but thought that she could get used to it.
As they were headed out of town, she did wonder for a moment if they were picking up Serenity.
But they went to the biggest house she’d ever seen besides Helen’s.
Christ, these people must have money out the ears.
“Damn it.” Serenity was already there, and that pissed her off.
Getting out of the limo, she tried her best to take in as much of it as she could and not let the fact that her sister had already met everyone bother her.
She didn’t know why she was bothering. Everything about her sister bothered her.
The couple that came out of the house looked like they could be a wedding cake topper.
The man was the best-looking man she’d ever seen.
“Hello. You must be Beth. Serenity only just arrived too.” She asked how long that had been.
“Just a few minutes. Not much more than that.” She wanted to ask more questions, but was cut off when she was introduced to the rest of the people crowded in the room.
“And this is our son, Davy. He’s been looking forward to this all day. ”
“So have I. I’m sick of fast food, and I’m sure that Serenity is.
She’s been going by the dairy place nearly every day to share a sandwich with our dead sister.
” When no one else laughed with her, she felt stupid.
And that made her lash out. “I was only kidding. She eats them both, I guess. Helen loved them chicken things, too.”
“I do as well.” The man talking smiled at her. “We have to be careful what we eat at the little place, or they’d be out of business soon. Especially when we all show up. There are about a dozen when we show up someplace to eat dinner.”
“I don’t care for crowds of people to eat with.” He said something under his breath, but she didn’t quite catch it. She was sure it wasn’t nice, but she was going to keep her mouth shut for now. There was no point in pissing everyone off before she got to eat. “When are we eating? I’m starving.”